24 | FEATURE | INDEPENDENT EDUCATION TODAY
KE Y RES U LTS
ISC CENSUS: SEC T OR SHOWS T
Results of the ISC annual census 2014 are encouraging, with prep schools in particular showing a significant
his year’s ISC annual census of independent schools across the UK provides confirmation of the resilience
and stability of the sector in times of continued economic uncertainty. There are more pupils of prep
school age at ISC schools, with an increase of 1.1% in the number of pupils aged ten and under. There are 5,216 more pupils in this age group, auguring well for the sector’s future. Overall there are more pupils
reported at ISC schools in 2014 than in 2013. Significantly, there are now more pupils at ISC schools than there were in 2008 at the start of the economic downturn – 511,928 pupils at 1,257 ISC schools compared to 508,601 pupils at 1,223 schools in 2013. At the 1,209 schools completing the census in both 2013 and 2014, pupil numbers have held steady. There are also rises in the numbers of
pupils boarding at ISC schools, with an increase of 1.0 per cent at those schools completing the census in both 2013 and 2014. There are now 68,453 boarders at ISC schools compared to 66,766 last year. ISC schools continue to increase the
value of fee assistance, by an average of 5.1% this year. This brings the total value of fee assistance provided by ISC schools to over £660m, an increase of almost £40m over last year. Eight per cent of pupils now receive means-tested bursaries and, of these, 41.9% had more than half their fees remited by their school. This reflects the long-term aim of ISC schools to increase the amount of bursary provision and widen access to their schools. By contrast, school
"I’M P A R T IC UL A R LY D E LI GHTED THAT OU R SCHOOLS HAV E C O N T INUED T O SHOW SUCH ROBUST
PERF O RMANCE" RUDOL F ELIO T T L OCK H A R T , ISC
fees have shown the lowest rise for 20 years at 3.9%. The census also shows that independent schools are increasingly international in their pupil population and in the university
Barnaby Lenon, ISC
chairman: “This census is about hard facts”
destinations to which pupils go. As well as enrolling increasing numbers of pupils from overseas (or whose parents
are foreign nationals living in
the UK), an increasing number of ISC schools have overseas campuses. In all, 39 campuses have been opened overseas with a total student population of 22,514. Barnaby Lenon, chairman of
the Independent Schools Council, commented: “This census is about hard facts. It shows comprehensively and dispassionately what the state of the sector is. Overwhelmingly, the facts this census lays out are of a sector that is performing with resilience and stability. Parents clearly continue to value
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40